Aaron and Emily: A Thin Line
by LacytheRomanWerewolf
Summary: Emily and Aaron inform the team of Emily's future plans and Jack once again worries for his family. HP JRo


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Lacy here kids with the next A&E. Hot damn, I thought Katie was going to kill me leaving the last one where I did. What can I say? I live for making her want to throttle me. As for this episode, dude seriously? The episode I plan for Em's first one back after having Aurora and she gets shot? *rolls eyes* Fine, grazed but still! *huffs* I'll deal with it but once again, I am very unhappy with the writers. I know, what's new. Okay, have fun!

Disclaimer: I own Bethany, Mallory and Aurora.

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~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Emily stared at her badge and gun as she dressed for her first day back since taking maternity leave. She and Aaron had agreed to wait a few weeks before going to the director to discuss Emily retiring.

After her dropping the bombshell on Valentine's Day, Aaron had immediately started looking into what needed to be done for Emily to retire. He'd told her he would support her no matter what and he meant it. He knew how hard it was for her to be away from the kids, especially after everything their family had gone through.

"Hey you ready for work?"

Emily faced Aaron with a small smile as he walked into their room. "Hey, just about. The kids ready?"

Aaron nodded. "Jack's watching the girls downstairs." he stepped up to Emily and saw her badge and gun. "Changing your mind?"

Emily shook her head. "No just thinking about what I'll be leaving behind."

Aaron wrapped his arms around Emily. "You won't be leaving anything behind. Just like when JJ got taken by the DOD, I will not let you be left out just because you're not part of the team anymore. You will still be part of the family."

Emily leaned her head back on Aaron's shoulder. "I know. Thank you. Even though it's my idea, it's still taking some getting used to."

Aaron kissed Emily's temple as he nodded. "I know. It'll be an adjustment for all of us."

"When should we tell them?" Emily asked. The last time she and Aaron made a major decision like this, it almost cost them their family because they kept it secret.

Aaron exhaled as he rested his cheek against Emily's hair. "This morning, after our case briefing. I would say we'll wait until things are finalized but we both know what secrets do to our family."

Emily nodded her agreement. "Then let's get going."

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The team was quiet. They weren't entirely sure they'd heard Aaron and Emily correctly.

"Why?" Garcia was the first to speak.

Emily sighed. "There's no one real reason. It's what I feel I need to do. For myself and for my family."

"We are your family." Morgan pointed out, sounding slightly bitter.

"It's not like you'll never see her again," Aaron said.

"It'll be like when I went to the DOD." JJ pointed out, helping the two out.

Reid frowned a bit. "But you came back, JJ."

Emily sighed again. "I know it's a huge thing to drop right before we leave for a case but Aaron and I agreed keeping it a secret until it was finalized would have been a mistake." she looked at each of her teammates. "This won't be goodbye. I'll still be around but my priorities have changed."

Dave stood up and moved to hug Emily. "You do what you need to, Em. We'll support you." The tone in Dave's voice said the others would fall in line behind him and like it. The older man was not risking his family splitting up. Not again.

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Emily winced as she shifted in the seat of the SUV on the way home.

"You okay?"

Emily looked at Aaron. "It's sore if I move wrong but I've definitely had worse."

Aaron gave his own wince. "Yeah, believe me, I remember." he set his eyes on her sling for a moment before returning them to the road. "Jack's going to worry again."

Emily sighed. She'd been doing that a lot. "I know but I'll show him what happened, explain it all to him and let him know that I'm perfectly fine and it'll heal."

Aaron smiled. "You are a fantastic mother, Emily Hotchner."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

Jack traced Emily's bandage after she'd explained everything. "You're sure you're okay, Mommy?"

Emily nodded. "I promise you."

Jack nodded too. "Okay." he wrinkled up his nose for a moment. "I heard you and Daddy talking about you retiring. What's that mean?"

Emily scrubbed her hands together. "That means that I am considering leaving work for good so I can stay home all the time with you and your sisters."

Jack's eyes lit up but he tried to keep a straight face. "Really?"

Emily smiled. "Yeah, really. What do you think about that?"

Jack shrugged, trying to pretend it didn't matter. "I guess it's okay."

Emily gently tickled the little boy. "You guess?"

Jack giggled and tried to squirm away. "Yeah."

Emily grabbed him, careful of her arm. "I love you, Jack Hotchner."

Jack rested his head on Emily's shoulder. "I love you too, Mommy."

~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~'~

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Hmm, that went...not at all as planned. But I think the end with Jack and Emily was perfect and yeah, Morgan had to be a dick about the whole Em retiring thing. Have no fear, if Dave has to beat him into submission, he will. He's seriously not going to risk his family again. Let me know what you think, flame policy stands and thanks for reading.

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